Running Without Pain

"Pain is a part of being alive, and we need to learn that. Pain does not last forever, nor is it necessarily unbeatable, and we need to be taught that."
– Harold Kushner

Last Thursday, on It Has Nothing to Do with Age or Gender, our TV guest was  none other than ultra runner Madhu Avasarala. Madhu, born in Bangalore, India migrated to this country in the early 1980s to complete a Masters degree in engineering at Howard University. At the time, he was running to stay in shape, and only ran 10 km road races. It was only when he completed his Masters and took a position  in the Bay Area, that he was introduced to ultra trail runs.

Upon returning to India for visiting his family, Madhu  created the first ultra run in Bangalore, India. This well read, lover of music is also a vegan. Being a vegan was part of his growing up in India, and he’s continued it since. Madhu , at an early age, was introduced to Americana through the movies. And once he arrived in the Washington DC area, he acclimated himself very well. To learn more about him and his lifestyle visit   http://youtu.be/wVPNMKeK3is  .

Sunday, Tony and I in preparation for our 50 km trail runs. Ran from my home to the quarry  trail, crossing Highway 49 twice, ran along the river, up  American River Canyon and returned back to my home. Tony was ahead of me and added additional trail totaling about 25 miles. I likely ran about 23 ± trail miles. About halfway, I met Linda, changed some of my clothes and got additional supplies. I told her  at that point that I was feeling great.

After my run, I was surprised about my energy level. I know that I’m running faster based on clock time than I have in a number of years. In thinking about my running efficiency, I believe some of the variables  that have contributed to my change include: I haven’t experienced Achilles issues; I’m now running the hills and not worrying about my Achilles; my expectations(positive feedback) have changed in a positive direction; and I’m increasing my weekly mileage to more than  50 miles per week.

If I really wanted to run a lot faster, I would do track work. For me, there too many trail hazards , so, I run in a more controlled manner. I am looking forward to my 50 km Jed Smith run and expect to run that faster than last year. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, keep moving, smiling, laughing, deep breathing, bonding, and pay attention to gratitude.